Third Mainland Bridge Safe For Motorists

The Federal Government on Sunday confirmed the safety of the Third Mainland Bridge, saying that it did not pose any danger to motorists contrary to the impression created via a social media posting.

In a statement made available to our correspondent in Abuja on Sunday, the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing said its engineers and consultants had confirmed a bad joint on the bridge but said the bridge was good enough for commuters; they also said that work would soon begin on the affected joint and others.

The statement read, “The general public is hereby informed that the expansion joint shown in a Facebook video clip is one of those slated for change during repairs of the Third Mainland Bridge which will commence soon.

“It is still functioning and our engineers and consultants have advised that it does not pose any structural danger to the bridge and it is safe to use.

“Commuters and Lagos residents will recall that the Third Mainland Bridge was shut down for a three-day investigative maintenance in August 2018. Tests done on the expansion joints then called static and dynamic load tests were to check functionality. A number of expansion joints were identified for replacement then.”

It added, “More recently, in March this year, underwater confirmatory tests preceding the repair works to be done on the bridge were carried out on the piles to determine if there is further deterioration or not on the piles from that which was done in 2013.

“However, all the tests done preparatory to the closure of the bridge in order to commence comprehensive maintenance works indicate that the integrity of the bridge is intact.

“Therefore, the Third Mainland Bridge is safe for use, and people should desist from spreading or sharing false information about the bridge on social media platforms.”

The ministry said that the expansion joints to be replaced were part of a regular bridge maintenance programme that had been neglected for decades but which the present administration was now addressing frontally on many bridges nationwide.

It added that such maintenance works included resurfacing of the bridge along with several others.